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Mercedes-Benz celebrates 120 years of Motorsports

In 1894, newspaper publisher Pierre Giffard organized a competition for vehicles without horses. The 126 km race from Paris to Rouen was an exotic event, featuring cars powered by steam, battery and petrol. Gottlieb Daimler, one of the pioneers of petrol powered engines and a founder of the company now known as Mercedes-Benz, understood that such an event could help promote his innovations; so he visited Paris with his son Paul. The results were more than satisfying for the skilled engineer: places one to four went to vehicles with Daimler engines, in fact nine of the seventeen vehicles that finished were powered by Daimler’s products.